NORTH PLAINS, OREGON | It was as if LIV Golf went to a protest last week and a golf tournament broke out.
Pre-tournament opposition outside the gates of Pumpkin Ridge was strong and emotional. Then it was time for LIV Golf’s second 54-hole extravaganza, its U.S. debut.
The Portland Invitational satisfied gawking local golf fans who hadn’t seen male players of this stature perform in the metro area since hometown Peter Jacobsen’s annual Monday-Tuesday Fred Meyer Challenge tournaments brought Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and many other stars – including Greg Norman – from 1986 to 2002.
As happy as kids in a candy store, the fans at Pumpkin Ridge smiled when they got a thumbs-up from Phil Mickelson, turned their heads when Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka walked by, and gasped as they followed the flight of a Bryson DeChambeau tee shot for the first time.
Attendance was sparse for the first 18 holes, as critics spoke with their absence. The crowd grew for the middle round and was a little larger and a lot more boisterous on Saturday for the closing 18 – and the players took notice.
Taking at face value the words of those who cashed in the most, LIV Golf and the Portland stop made a positive impression.
“The fans all week were absolutely amazing,” said Johnson, who tied for third, four shots back of winner Branden Grace. “There was tons of energy out there.”
Grace, whose final nine was a 5-under-par 30, said he felt a bit like Tiger Woods as he walked the home hole with a 15th pro victory in hand and fans chanting his name.
“I’ve never experienced anything like that,” said Grace, a South African who won twice on the PGA Tour.
Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz, who placed second, two shots behind Grace, joked of the crowd support that “I didn’t know there were that many Mexicans in Portland.”
Pat Perez shrugged off his final-day 80 as he pocketed $750,000 for being part of the winning 4 Aces team (he also got $153,000 for a share of 29th).
“Unbelievable experience. The greatest thing I’ve ever been a part of,” said Perez, a 46-year-old American and three-time winner on the PGA Tour.
Reed, Johnson and Talor Gooch carried 4 Aces on Saturday, and Reed said he had one eye on the team standings as he came on strong late for a 67 that tied Johnson for third.
“It was awesome here from start to finish,” Reed said of the atmosphere, “seeing how electric and pumped up the people were. … I might be moving to Portland sometime soon, so many fans on my side.”
“I had to come see this one, with all the headlines. I appreciate somebody bringing a new wave of energy, and this is exactly what the sport needs.”
DAN EVANS FROM CHICAGO
The emphasis of Jacobsen’s “Peter’s Party” a generation ago was fun, with some prize money thrown in. The LIV Golf tournament had some of that feel, albeit with a lot more money: Grace earned $4 million for the victory, plus another $375,000 for his share of his team’s second-place money.
And the 48 players probably were relieved to get the show on the road Thursday, after a few tense press conferences at Pumpkin Ridge and after being ripped elsewhere in the area for taking part in a venture funded by “blood money.” (Let’s for one moment call it what it is: PIF Golf, for Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.)
Portland is known for its activism, protests and support of human rights, and this tournament was like its new Public Enemy No. 1. Many around town, even serious golfers and club members, vowed not to support the event.
In one impassioned press conference, family members of 9/11 victims called out the LIV golfers. Another press conference remembered a 15-year-old Portland girl, Fallon Smart, who was killed crossing a neighborhood street in 2016 by a speeding Saudi hit-and-run driver who later was whisked back to his home country, escaping trial here.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon tore into the LIV golfers and implored citizens to not “help the Saudis write another grisly chapter in the sportswashing playbook by supporting this tournament that helps to normalize these Saudi atrocities.” Gov. Kate Brown also expressed her concerns about supporting an enterprise created by a country accused of human-rights violations galore (and of gore). The mayor of North Plains, home of Pumpkin Ridge, was joined by 10 other nearby mayors in strongly objecting to the tournament. And then Ecotrust, a Portland environmental nonprofit, apologized to everyone for renting space to LIV Golf for a pre-tourney party.
The players did their best to dodge questions about their decision to go with LIV Golf.
“I did what’s best for me,” Koepka said.
Mickelson’s November comments to golf writer Alan Shipnuck, which got him in so much hot water – “They’re scary (expletives) to get involved with” – still rank as probably the most candid and honest uttered by a LIV golfer.
But however callous, oblivious or self-centered the players might have seemed to their Portland critics, the fans who did attend last week’s tournament seemed just as content to take their side.
The golfers said they were here to play and entertain; the spectators at Pumpkin Ridge said they came to watch golf and be entertained.
The controversy “doesn’t bother us at all. All governments do strange things,” said Bill Stanwood, in the gallery with son Sean.
“I just like to watch golf,” said Linda Tice, who flew in from Sacramento, California, on the morning of the first round. “I’ve been to PGA Tour and senior and celebrity tournaments. I like everybody who plays. This is something new. The format is different. It looks like everybody is having a good time.”
Dan Evans from Chicago also is a serious golf fan. He has attended a handful of PGA Tour events already this season and plans to go to two or three more LIV Golf tournaments in 2022.
“I had to come see this one, with all the headlines,” he said. “I appreciate somebody bringing a new wave of energy, and this is exactly what the sport needs.”
Food writer Lindsay D. Mattison and her husband, Andrew, had moved to the Portland area a week earlier from Durango, Colorado, where Andrew was superintendent at Glacier Club.
“I just want to watch good golfers,” Andrew Mattison said.
“Every time I put gas in my car, I’m supporting something I don’t support, so is coming out to see these golfers any different?” Lindsay Mattison said. “The golfers are not the problem. They’re doing their thing. They’re amazing golfers, and this is a beautiful course.”
Fans weren’t sure how they felt about all parts of the LIV Golf format, though. The shotgun start came off as different and possibly OK, but not necessarily an improvement, although the golfers apparently love it. An event with only 54 holes had a bit of a Champions, mini-tour or pro-am feel, minus the amateurs.
And the team system – which LIV Golf officials seem determined to keep pushing and emphasizing even more – left many fans scratching their heads. It wasn’t easy for them to grasp the cutesy attempts at names, the minor-league baseball-ish logos and get around the lack of team scoreboards on the course.
The younger the fans, the more willing they seem to give LIV team golf a shot and maybe even embrace its potential for choosing a favorite and wagering on it.
“I haven’t gotten into the team aspect, but it’s cool,” Andrew Mattison said.
Reed and other players insisted they care about and enjoy the team competition.
“It felt like I was playing a Ryder Cup or a Presidents Cup, where everybody’s all in and playing their hearts out, as hard as they can,” said Reed, an American whose eight PGA Tour victories include the 2018 Masters.
The 7,641-yard Pumpkin Ridge course seemed to pass the test, as well. Only 15 players finished under par, and the scoring average was over par all three days.
A few more marshals and concession stands would be welcome for the remaining two Portland tournaments on Pumpkin Ridge’s contract – assuming LIV Golf wants to put up again with the widespread public outcry and hope for a bigger turnout.
Now it’s on to the third LIV Golf event, July 29-31 at Trump National in Bedminster, New Jersey.
“This week was absolutely insane, it was so much fun,” Reed said. “The guys that don’t (play LIV Golf), they’re missing out. This is the best thing I’ve ever been a part of. I can’t wait for the next one.”
Top: “I’ve never experienced anything like that,” said Branden Grace of the crowds that watched his victory.
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